While on-board meals are held to strict safety standards, the risk of bacteria can be greater in the air due to the lag time between when the food is prepared and when it’s served, according to airline food safety expert Jean Dible.
“In the restaurant industry, food is cooked and served without delay,” Dible says. “In the aviation industry, food is prepared at a catering company and then packed in insulated containers and trucked to airports to be put aboard the aircraft.” That can make it difficult to control the temperature of the food.
“Incorrect holding temperatures is the number one reason for food-borne illness on a worldwide basis,” Dible says.
To play it safe, here are six types of foods she and other experts suggest you avoid when you’re dining above the clouds.